What are some foolproof ways to build a great brand?
- Understand why you’re doing it
- Find, know, and appeal to your audience
- Share your story
- Get creative
- Maintain cohesion
Picture this: you’re a budding entrepreneur on the brink of success—if you could only get your branding down. I know you’re serious about your business idea; after all, that’s why you’re here. But you and I both know that’s only half the battle.
If you’re still at a loss on how to build your brand, consider my two cents. Who knows? Maybe these two cents will take you to your first million in a couple of years.
Based on my own experience and what I’ve learned from experts, here are five foolproof ways to build a brand:
Understand why you’re doing it
Before you start crafting brand names and logos, you have to know what the brand is for in the first place. You can go as far as crafting a mission and vision, or you can start small. Either way, knowing the value of your branding is where you should start.
To quote micro-brandologist Jennifer Cairns, “We cannot make people think, feel, and say certain things about them, about us in our business, but we can influence that. And that’s really where your brand comes in.”
Jennifer, the founder of Brand Evolution Academy and Lady Rebel Club, was featured in our podcast a year ago, and her words ring true to this day. Brands are important because they shape the image of your business to the public. So it’s good to know what that image is first.
Find, know, and appeal to your audience
If the foundation of a business is what it provides, the foundation of a brand is who it targets. So know your audience. Do your research. Find out all you can, and sift through that information to determine what will help your business.
You know the drill—conduct surveys, make buyer personas, monitor feedback. This is the age of information, so use what’s available to you both online and off. Build a network you can leverage, and then ask around.
This is important because your audience is your brand’s lifeblood. Your branding will rely on these people throughout your business journey, and their decisions will dictate what people say about, do with, and think of you and your product.
Share your story
The best way to build a brand that’s unique? Be yourself. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. No human on Earth has been through the exact same experience you’ve had, and it’s that experience that will set you apart from everyone else in the field.
Marketing and visibility coach Vince Warnock shared with me in a podcast: “What are your values? What do you stand for? What is your story? How did you get to where you are now? Where did you get to all of those aspects together from who you are as an entrepreneur or from who you are as a startup? And that is your core brand.”
Get creative
When the general public thinks of brands, they usually think of visuals. A strong visual identity does a lot of the work for you: it attracts customers, drives traffic, and remains in your audience’s mind for a long time.
So don’t underestimate the power of good marketing visuals; instead, invest in them. Get creative, get experimental, but get smart, too. Make informed decisions, and do everything with a purpose.
As you go, tie everything back to your brand’s goals—that’s why we started this article by coming up with them.
Maintain cohesion
Finally, what differentiates branding from just putting images and graphics together is cohesion. You have a goal, you have an audience to appeal to, you have a story, and you have the materials. You need to put all these things together in a way that they make sense.
Jennifer Cairns says in another Leadership Stack podcast, “One of the things that will make people bounce from a sales page or bounce from your social posts or whatever it is quicker than anything is lack of cohesion.”
Consider this a pro-tip, because no customer is going to come up to you and say, “I didn’t complete my purchase because your branding isn’t cohesive.”
However, the experts, Jennifer included, will tell you that it’s a subconscious decision on behalf of your customers to bounce if you thrust them into something unexpected. Whether that’s a page with different visuals, a post with a different voice, or a vibe that doesn’t complement the rest of their customer journey—you get the gist.
Key Takeaway
Now that you’ve heard my insights on ways to build a brand, I wish you luck in coming up with your own. If you want more expert advice and business success stories, check out the best business podcast in the Philippines by clicking here. Your journey has just begun, so take our advice with you every step of the way!